Monday, June 3, 2013

Plotting vs. Pantsing

Alright, I will be the first to admit that I see the value in pantsing. I've done it myself before, for my first novel, and though I'm not quite a fan of the writing in that now, (because it was from two years ago and I like to think I've gotten a lot better since then) but I think that the general plot came together very well. It isn't dull, (a few people have read it and told me that they liked it - not just my mom!) and it moves along at a good pace. All this is subjective of course, but for the purposes of this blog post, let's pretend that I'm right.

And yet, if anyone saw my post from Saturday, you'll know that I'm definitely not pantsing this new novel. Why? Well, I tried that. And it didn't work. I got to chapter four and suddenly I was like, hmm. I don't really know where this is going. And I don't really have enough for a novel. At best, I have enough for about six more chapters - if I'm lucky.

And then there was this weird scene with an imp and the medical examiner and I just got really confused very  quickly.

Consequently, I turned to the book Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success by K.M. Weiland. It was either 3.99 or 4.99 on Amazon for kindle, something around that, and it was worth every penny. In the book she goes in depth on her kind of outlining and how she treats every step of the writing process. Now, as I was reading, I knew that it wouldn't all work for me, but a good amount struck me as pretty easy and not complicated, so I started doing it.

And, voila! I have pages in a notebook on my M.C. Blaire and everything I could possibly need to know about her, another notebook with pages of handy 'What if...?' questions that I can use to explore other subplots or richen my current plot, and my handy-dandy storyboard with all my scenes on it, in sequential order. (But if the mood strikes me, I can easily move them around).

Because of all this, I feel fairly relaxed, and able to focus a lot more creatively on this first draft instead of having my inner-editor beat me over the head with a frying pan for every misplaced comma.

I think this firmly places me on the plotter side of this debate - though I do have a soft side for pantsing. And who knows? For my next novel, I might pants the whole thing. :)

So what about you? Where do you think you fall? Plotter, pantser, or maybe somewhere in the middle?

9 comments:

  1. I'm definitely a plotter. I always have a ridiculous amount of notes for any story, and I need to outline, or I feel lost. I sometimes deviate from the outline when creativity takes over, but I have to know my major plot points and the ending. Sometimes I wish I was more of a pantser though!

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    1. It seems like a lot of writers are that way - and if it works for you, that's awesome! I just can't take a lot of notes, I end up getting bored with my plot and I lose interest in writing it. Good for you though. :)

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  2. I am a recovering pantser, haha. Even though I decided to plot my latest wip, I know that I will always (and forever)be a pantser at heart. It was painful having to think things through for this project when all I really wanted to do was start writing but it has helped me to add a little bit of structure and even if I don't follow the outline to a T than I can least have some idea of how far I can deviate from it without getting too much off track. So...yeah, I think I'm somewhere in the middle.

    Also, I might check out that book. I found this really great outline technique for Scrivener on YouTube and I've been using that to plot my wip, but it would nice to have a book on outlining.

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    1. I really recommend it! And I know exactly what you mean, it's nice to have something to fall back on, but it's good to allow yourself to deviate sometimes too! :)

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  3. I've pantsed for most of my writing, with a lot of side notes collected in a noteook along the way. I used to start bulletin points near the end, showing what I had remaining, but otherwise that was it for anything resembling an outline.
    But I'm just beginning a rewrite of an old project, and it's demanding an outline. Aack. This book looks like a good resource-thanks!

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    1. You're welcome! And that's kind of how I was for my first novel - it definitely works some of the time! :) Good luck with your rewrite!

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  4. I'm a plotter through and through. I have to begin with a good deal of planning under my belt or my whole story will just meander and end up being 200,000 words long. :D That plan often changes as I discover new things about my story while I'm writing, but I have to operate off of a plan.

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    1. Oh my gosh, I don't think I've ever had to worry about a story being too long. I wish I had that problem sometimes - I never seem to have enough story! XD

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  5. After I tried pantsing with the first serious novel I attempted writing four years back and met with a blank wall, I became a hardcore plotter. But thing is even after all the plotting, my story still takes turns I didn't expect. That not withstanding, the outline is a good foundation for greater imagination and I've found out plotting makes my story a lot stronger.

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